Display-rack.



PATENTED NOV. 29, 1904.

E. B. WESTON. DISPLAY RACK.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 31, 1904.

N0 MODEL.

I nn/enor 5W fllaim Wb'n e66 es IlNTTEn STATES Patented November 29,1904..

PATENT OEErcE.

EDWVARD B. WESTON, OF DAYTON, OHIO.

DISPLAY-RACK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 776,282, dated November29, 1904;.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD B. WESTON, a citizen of the United States,residing in Dayton, in the county of Montgomery and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Display-Racks, of whichthe following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

My improvement relates to racks or stands for the display of goods andmerchan,dise;and it consists of that certain novel construction andarrangement of parts to be hereinafter pointed out and claimed wherebythe displayrack can be cheaply constructed out of metal strips, in whichthe requisite strength to withstand the strains incident to the displayof heavy merchandise on the rack is obtained, and in which at the sametime the rack can be readily and easily folded together or knocked down,so that it can be stored and transported in convenient shape forhandling and so as to occupy but very little space.

My display-rack, being of light construction and easily handled, isparticularly adapted for mounting on top of more cumbersome andsolidly-constructed racks, and to that end I supply clamps for securingsame to the cornerposts of other racks; but of course my invention canbe used by itself when desired.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of my rack, showing thesame mounted on the corner-posts of another rack. Fig. 2 is a frontelevation of my improved rack folded up for storage or transportation.Fig. 3 is a cross-section of one of the shelves, taken on the line 3 3of Fig. 1.

The entire rack is made up of metal strips forming an open framework ofback and sides, in which a c are the vertical strips for the back of therack, provided with curved connecting extensions 5 b for the top andlongitudinal strips 0 c for the bottom and intermediate braces, thestrips being riveted together at the various meetingpoints.

d d are metal strips forming the vertical portion of the sides, whichstrips have curved extensions 6 c at the top, hinged by a suitableApplication filed March 31,1904. Serial No. 200,932. (No model.)

bolt at f f to the corner-strips c a of the back. This hinged joint ismade by bending over at right angles the ends of the. strips (1. c andpassing a bolt through the bent-over portions. g g are the bottomcross-strips of the sides, which are hinged at h it to the lower end ofthe corner-strips a c of the back.

The shelves for the rack are made up of metal strips, in which l 6 formthe front and rear edges of the shelf and m m the end edges, this stripor strips being placed on edge. Running longitudinally of thisshelf-frame and at the middle line thereof is a metal strip a, alsoplaced on edge, or vertically, and riveted to the end strips on m byhaving its ends turned over at right angles.

p g) are intermediate longitudinal strips running parallel to the middlestrip, but arranged horizontally instead of on edge, these strips alsobeing riveted to the end pieces m m of the frame by having their endsturned down at right angles to the length of the strips.

1" r are cross-brace metal strips which have their ends turned over atright angles and which are riveted to the front and rear strips Hand themiddle strip at. These cross-braces are also riveted to the longitudinalstrips P1) at their intersections.

By thus constructing the shelves and arranging the metal strips partlyon edge and partly fiat, with the cross-braces as shown, I obtain ashelf which is exceedingly rigid and which will not sag or bend in anydirection under the weight of the merchandise placed on the shelves. Theshelves are hinged or pivoted at t to the corner-strips c c of the back,and when the rack is set up the shelves are held in horizontal positionat their outer edges by the bolts 24 a, which pass through the strips (Zof the sides and through the framework of the shelves. 7

It will be seen from the above construction that by releasing the boltsa a the shelves can be turned down parallel with the rear frame of therack and that the side frames can then be folded in on top of the foldedshelves, so that the entire framework of the rack can thus be flattenedout or knocked down.

In order to conveniently secure my rack on top of a lower rack, I rivetthe clamps 9 1 at the lower four corners of the framework. These clampsare open at one side and provided with a screw (0 to draw the clamptogether. These clamps are fitted over cornerposts 7) b of any suitablerack upon which it would be desired to mount my display-rack, and theclamps are then tightened to take up any difference in the dimensions ofthe corner-posts.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a display-rack, an open framework constructed of vertical andhorizontal metal strips riveted together to form the back and sides, thesides being hinged to the back at top and bottom, with shelves oflongitudinal strips of metal and suitable cross-braces, the shelvesbeing hinged to the back, with removable bolts to hold the shelves inextended position, whereby upon removing the shelf-bolts, the shelvesand sides may be folded upon the back to flatten out the rack fortransportation, substantially as shown and described.

2. In a display-rack, an open framework constructed of vertical andhorizontal metal strips riveted together to form the back and sides, thesides being hinged to the back at the top and bottom, with shelvestherefor, constructed of metal strips arranged vertically for theoutside frame of the shelf, with a central vertical strip andintermediate horizontal strips with horizontal cross-braces forsupporting the horizontal strips and bracing the vertical strips, theshelves being hinged to the back, with removable means for holding theshelves in extended position, whereby upon releasing the shelf supportthe shelves and sides may be folded upon the back to flatten out therack for transportation, substantially as shown and described.

EDWARD B. WVESTON. I

Witnesses:

EARL H. TURI IER, HARRY B. GENGNAGEL.

7 a c i

